Where in Hawai’i? The Sunday photo quiz

Not every beach has to boast pale sand and bright water to be beguiling. One example: the subject of today’s photo quiz (images below.) The sand is charcoal-colored, driftwood and other flotsam makes a barefoot stroll unwise, and the murky waters, courtesy of a river mouth, aren’t inviting — except to intrepid local surfers when conditions are right, and to anglers on the long pier. But this special place exerts a pull on me, and not just because it’s close to one of Hawai’i’s most striking landmarks, the location of one of its most historic events and a unique “resort.” It’s where you can in tranquility feel the wind on your face, gaze at the open ocean with the sheltering green hills at your back, puzzle over the mosaic of bleached and blackened kukui nuts strewn on the sand, and reflect on the forces that are quietly returning this island to the sea.

So where in Hawai’i is this? And which beaches in Hawai’i do you enjoy for peaceful reflection? Please send your answers, and any anecdotes and/or photos you care to share with our readers, along with your name and hometown, to hawaii.insider@gmail.com, by 3 p.m. Pacific time Monday (June 27.) I’ll include a number of your responses in a followup posted later this week. (And although I’m two weeks behind in mailing, I will be sending out little tastes of Hawai’i — think li hing — to a handful of respondents each week who include their mailing address with their answers, as a mahalo to readers.) Thanks, as always, for reading and sharing your Insider information!

Jeanne Cooper / Special to SFGate

Dark sand, dark waters, quiet beauty: Do you know where in Hawai’i this is?

Jeanne Cooper / Special to SFGate

Part of this beach fronts a broad lawn studded with banyan, Norfolk pine and other signature trees of modern Hawai’i.